Bank for the Blind?

Macular Disease Foundation Australia supports the call from Blind Citizens Australia for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to stop the roll out of new touchscreen EFTPOS machines until accessibility issues, being experienced by people living with vision loss and blindness, are addressed.

Foundation CEO Julie Heraghty said it was unacceptable that those navigating life with vision loss have been totally overlooked by CBA. “Technology is now central to the management of our daily lives; it is inexcusable that a segment of our community is now excluded from something as basic as making a financial transaction safely.”

“It is surprising that a major corporate in CBA is investing in new technology and not including accessibility in the planning and development stage. The question to ask is why invest in such a high cost roll out of technology, which excludes those with a disability,” said Julie.

About 75,000 EFTPOS touchscreen terminals have been rolled out across Australia by CBA to retail businesses such as coffee shops, boutiques and restaurants.

The lack of a tactile physical keypad, means a person with vision loss or blindness is unable to independently complete a financial transaction on these new EFTPOS machines.